So I picked up my Camaro 3 weeks ago and live in an apartment, which makes it very difficult to wash my car properly very often. This will especially be a problem in the winter when I want to get a wash with underbody rinse at least once a week to get rid of the Michigan highway salt. I know of one brushless carwash in Ann Arbor at a gas station, and tried to make my car there, but the bottom scraped the guide rail so I didn't go through it.

I've seen a lot of posts of people taking their Camaros through touchless car washes, and was wondering if anyone knows of one that the Camaro fits through in metro Detroit or A2? I live in A2 but work in Southfield, so I drive near a large number of cities in Metro Detroit every day(Livonia, Canton, Novi, Farmington Hills, Southfield). I would greatly appreciate any help at finding a car wash that will be relatively safe on my car! Thanks so much!

I'm in the Southfield area myself (Lathrup Village) and know of nothing I think is OK to take a car through. Take into account touchless places will use harsher soaps and a higher dilution of them in order to clean without coming in contact with your car. One wash and you have no more protection on your ride. :(

Hand car wash? They use grit-guard inserts? What type of wash media do they use - microfiber/lambswool? Are the mitts fresh or used on car after car? What type of car wash shampoo do they use and at what dilution?

Hand car wash? They use grit-guard inserts? What type of wash media do they use - microfiber/lambswool? Are the mitts fresh or used on car after car? What type of car wash shampoo do they use and at what dilution?

Yea... noone is touching my ride.

LOL... drive over and ask them those questions. My bet is the person running the place will answer:

LOL... drive over and ask them those questions. My bet is the person running the place will answer:Whats a grit-guard?
Wash 'media'? Huh? We wash cars here, not media.
HA! A clean mit for each car? Well la-dee-da!! Aren't you fancy!!
Car wash? Um... well... its um... hell if I know?
Dilution... yea, we dilute it with water.

When you see how touchless car washes clean cars, you may not want use them much more on your nicer cars.

How can a touchless car wash system remove road grime, that if I used high pressure spray and soap will absolutely not come off? Answer - they use strong acids.

Those acids if left on the car will eat away just about anything. One of the more noticeable problems is with clear coat being eaten off wheels behind wheel weights. A little bit of the car wash water will sit behind the wheel weight and over time it will dissolve the clear coat. GM has a bulletin describing all the damage that can be caused by touchless car wash acids.

One way to tell if their acids are on the strong side. Look at the exit drive and road right in front of the car wash. If it is constantly getting pot holes, their acid dripping off cars is tearing up the asphalt. I had one near me that the road was rough as heck right out front of the wash, but they had installed a concrete exit drive. All other areas of their lot and entry drive was asphalt. They obviously know the acids dripping off the cars will tear up the pavement.

Hand car wash? They use grit-guard inserts? What type of wash media do they use - microfiber/lambswool? Are the mitts fresh or used on car after car? What type of car wash shampoo do they use and at what dilution?

You might be chatting with the wrong crowd
If you want to describe what is likely your second largest purchase ever as "just a car" then not only are you VERY far from what I believe to be the normal owner that frequents this section of the site, but your car is likely to look very heavily aged and suffer from even higher depreciation.

Don't worry though - guys like me can help save your ride if you ever decide you want to treat yours better than an appliance.

When you see how touchless car washes clean cars, you may not want use them much more on your nicer cars.

How can a touchless car wash system remove road grime, that if I used high pressure spray and soap will absolutely not come off? Answer - they use strong acids.

Those acids if left on the car will eat away just about anything. One of the more noticeable problems is with clear coat being eaten off wheels behind wheel weights. A little bit of the car wash water will sit behind the wheel weight and over time it will dissolve the clear coat. GM has a bulletin describing all the damage that can be caused by touchless car wash acids.

One way to tell if their acids are on the strong side. Look at the exit drive and road right in front of the car wash. If it is constantly getting pot holes, their acid dripping off cars is tearing up the asphalt. I had one near me that the road was rough as heck right out front of the wash, but they had installed a concrete exit drive. All other areas of their lot and entry drive was asphalt. They obviously know the acids dripping off the cars will tear up the pavement.

Thanks for the information. I don't know what to do in the winter now. I can't let the salt build up, I can't wash it because I don't have a driveway and it would freeze anyways, automatic car washes are too dangerous (brushes or strong solvents for touchless), and the quarter wash is too high pressure, and not enclosed so it might also freeze if I can't dry it quickly enough. How does a Michigander like myself manage keeping my car clean in the winter if it is a daily driver?

Thanks for the information. I don't know what to do in the winter now. I can't let the salt build up, I can't wash it because I don't have a driveway and it would freeze anyways, automatic car washes are too dangerous (brushes or strong solvents for touchless), and the quarter wash is too high pressure, and not enclosed so it might also freeze if I can't dry it quickly enough. How does a Michigander like myself manage keeping my car clean in the winter if it is a daily driver?

I'll give you my advice as a fellow from the wolverine state.

First off - you'll have to live with having a dirty car for the overwhelming majority of the time. No way around that. Even on nicer / warmer days, the dried up salt will be flung all over your ride.

To clean her correctly, you'll need some "Gamma lids" for your 5 gallon buckets. Fill up your 2 five gallon buckets like for a normal wash, but put the water proof gamma lids on the buckets and head to the DIY bay on a nicer day. Spray the crap out of your car using the "rinse" water. Then do your two-bucket-method wash before rinsing again. Follow with your favorite microfiber drying towel and make sure you add on a spray sealant/wax to top up your protection, and you're all good to go

Thanks for the information. I don't know what to do in the winter now. I can't let the salt build up, I can't wash it because I don't have a driveway and it would freeze anyways, automatic car washes are too dangerous (brushes or strong solvents for touchless), and the quarter wash is too high pressure, and not enclosed so it might also freeze if I can't dry it quickly enough. How does a Michigander like myself manage keeping my car clean in the winter if it is a daily driver?

Wait for a day above 32F, and head to the quarter wash place with the two buckets like just mentioned above. One with sudsy car wash soap, and the other for rinsing your mitt.

My Camaro get's parked for the winter, but I do the two bucket thing a couple times a month on my Silverado 4x4 when a warm day hits in the winter. Works great as long as it's above freezing.

First off - you'll have to live with having a dirty car for the overwhelming majority of the time. No way around that. Even on nicer / warmer days, the dried up salt will be flung all over your ride.

To clean her correctly, you'll need some "Gamma lids" for your 5 gallon buckets. Fill up your 2 five gallon buckets like for a normal wash, but put the water proof gamma lids on the buckets and head to the DIY bay on a nicer day. Spray the crap out of your car using the "rinse" water. Then do your two-bucket-method wash before rinsing again. Follow with your favorite microfiber drying towel and make sure you add on a spray sealant/wax to top up your protection, and you're all good to go

Thanks for the advice! I think I'll just tough it out and wash my car when the temperature gets above freezing. What's the reason for the Gamma lids if its above freezing point? Can't you just use the water from the quarter wash when you spray down your car?

^ gamma lids make the buckets water tight so you won't spill any water. Bringing them along ready to go allows for a proper wash of the vehicle. You NEVER want to use those brushes the place provides let alone their soap. The brushes will scratch your finish and who knows what type of soap they're using.

So the buckets with lids allow for the actual washing, the car wash bay allows for the pre-rinse and final rinse before and after the actual washing.

^ gamma lids make the buckets water tight so you won't spill any water. Bringing them along ready to go allows for a proper wash of the vehicle. You NEVER want to use those brushes the place provides let alone their soap. The brushes will scratch your finish and who knows what type of soap they're using.

So the buckets with lids allow for the actual washing, the car wash bay allows for the pre-rinse and final rinse before and after the actual washing.

Sorry I meant bring your own buckets, wash mitt, and soap but wait to fill them up with the car wash water once you get there.

I see.
Bringing your own stuff ensures you're using quality clean materials for starters. Second - the pressure at the place isn't adjustable so there's no way to fill a bucket there. This is why your best bet is to fill everything at home with nice hot water (bath tub or laundry room), seal it up, and take it with you.
Additionally, you'd have to pay for the water at the car wash bay with quarters rather than having the perfect amount brought from home.

So I picked up my Camaro 3 weeks ago and live in an apartment, which makes it very difficult to wash my car properly very often. This will especially be a problem in the winter when I want to get a wash with underbody rinse at least once a week to get rid of the Michigan highway salt. I know of one brushless carwash in Ann Arbor at a gas station, and tried to make my car there, but the bottom scraped the guide rail so I didn't go through it.

I've seen a lot of posts of people taking their Camaros through touchless car washes, and was wondering if anyone knows of one that the Camaro fits through in metro Detroit or A2? I live in A2 but work in Southfield, so I drive near a large number of cities in Metro Detroit every day(Livonia, Canton, Novi, Farmington Hills, Southfield). I would greatly appreciate any help at finding a car wash that will be relatively safe on my car! Thanks so much!

Have you tried DetailXperts in Detroit?

They provide professional steam cleaning service, steam cleaning is far better than conventional cleaning in many ways, nothing touches your vehicle, every thing is cleaned fully (like vents of air conditioning etc) and seats mats are left Bactria free as well. I love there service when I was in permanently in Detroit,. Check them out here: http://www.detailxperts.net/

They provide professional steam cleaning service, steam cleaning is far better than conventional cleaning in many ways, nothing touches your vehicle, every thing is cleaned fully (like vents of air conditioning etc) and seats mats are left Bactria free as well. I love there service when I was in permanently in Detroit,. Check them out here: http://www.detailxperts.net/

That sounds awesome. So then do they just flood the car with air afterwards to get rid of the moisture?